From Audi’s A8 W-12 to the Mercedes-Benz S-class, we define what makes flagships special.

Luxury carmakers virtually always have one vehicle—usually their biggest sedan—that they consider their flagship. It’s the car they want commanders of industry, government, and organized crime to choose as their lead vessels. They’re the cars that let people know the boss has arrived. And they’re the cars that, when you buy one, announce thatyou’ve arrived.

The term “flagship” derives from the idea that a “flag officer”—an admiral or other senior officer entitled to fly a flag representing his command—should have one ship from which he exercises his leadership. Flagships are vessels like theHMS Victory from whose deck Admiral Horatio Nelson led 27 ships of the British Royal Navy in 1805’s Battle of Trafalgar, ultimately defeating 33 ships from the combined French and Spanish navies.